How electricity is being generated?

Question

i know that from dams but not sure.how is it possible to generate electricity from running water?what is meant by hydroelectric power?plz explain?

Answer 1

Oh! Dear Adam, leave all these Theories apart AND just see deep into eyes of your Eve, hug her tightly, kiss her eyes, whisper I Love You in her ear and just watch how electricity is being generated, what will be the effect of 1000 volts and off cource... what is short circut meens.....you will come to know all fundas of electricity, power, energy and dash..dash...dash

Answer 2

Have you see the force of a fire engine hose!

Well that is water power! Imagine water falling from a great height and you standing below!  

That is how water power is captured...through turbines

Answer 3

Running water/flowing water is arranged in such a way  to fall on the  turbine blades , which in turn rotates  the shaft of the turbine.  The turbine shaft is coupled to   multi pole Generator, which actually produces the electricity.

Answer 4

It is a simple process..

the water from the dam is passed through the special turbines. the force of water makes the turnine move and due to this the electricity is generated..

Answer 5

A dam high above a Hydro-electric Power Plant stores huge volumes of water containing massive amounts of Potential Energy (Energy waiting to be used).

Power is produced from the water as it is released to flow from the dam generating Kinetic Energy as it flows downwards.

This Kinetic Energy is converted to Mechanical Energy in rotating large water turbines that, through a shaft, transfer this Mechanical Energy to a Generator which converts the Mechanical Energy into Electrical Energy that is then fed into the Power system 'Grid' for transmission to Domestic and Industrial Users. These users convert the Electrical Energy into Heat, Light, more Mechanical Energy in motors driving pumps, compressors, fridges, washers, dryers and all manner of appliances using electricity.

(As Coal and Gas fired Power plants were not asked about, I won't include them. However, should you wish to have more info, my e-mail address is in my 'Profile').

So, basically, Hydro (water) Power is being converted to Electrical Power.

The water, having lost much of its Kinetic Energy, flows into a river or lake at a lower elevation than the Power Plant.

Answer 6

Thales' experiments with amber rods were the first studies into the production of electrical energy. While this method, now known as the triboelectric effect, is capable of lifting light objects and even generating sparks, it is extremely inefficient.[48] It was not until the invention of the voltaic pile in the eighteenth century that a viable source of electricity became available. The voltaic pile, and its modern descendant, the electrical battery, store energy chemically and make it available on demand in the form of electrical energy.[48] The battery is a versatile and very common power source which is ideally suited to many applications, but its energy storage is finite, and once discharged it must be disposed of or recharged. For large electrical demands electrical energy must be generated and transmitted in bulk.

Answer 7

Hydroelectric and coal-fired power plants produce electricity in a similar way. In both cases a power source is used to turn a propeller-like piece called a turbine, which then turns a metal shaft in an electric generator , which is the motor that produces electricity. A coal-fired power plant uses steam to turn the turbine blades; whereas a hydroelectric plant uses falling water to turn the turbine. The results are the same.

Water is needed to run a hydroelectric power-generating unit. The water is held behind a dam, forming an artificial lake, or reservoir. The force of the water being released from the reservoir through the dam spins the blades of a giant turbine. The turbine is connected to the generator that makes electricity as it spins. After passing through the turbine, the water flows back into the river on the other side of the dam.

The theory is to build a dam on a large river that has a large drop in elevation. The dam stores lots of water behind it in the reservoir. Near the bottom of the dam wall there is the water intake. Gravity causes it to fall through the penstock inside the dam. At the end of the penstock there is a turbine propeller, which is turned by the moving water. The shaft from the turbine goes up into the generator, which produces the power. Power lines are connected to the generator that carry electricity to your home and mine. The water continues past the propeller through the tailrace into the river past the dam.

As to how this generator works, the Corps of Engineers explains it this way:

"A hydraulic turbine converts the energy of flowing water into mechanical energy. A hydroelectric generator converts this mechanical energy into electricity. The operation of a generator is based on the principles discovered by Faraday. He found that when a magnet is moved past a conductor, it causes electricity to flow. In a large generator, electromagnets are made by circulating direct current through loops of wire wound around stacks of magnetic steel laminations. These are called field poles, and are mounted on the perimeter of the rotor. The rotor is attached to the turbine shaft, and rotates at a fixed speed. When the rotor turns, it causes the field poles (the electromagnets) to move past the conductors mounted in the stator. This, in turn, causes electricity to flow and a voltage to develop at the generator output terminals."

Answer 8

most of the electricity today is generated by fossil fuels like oil,etc, their combustion produces a great amount of heat which helps in turning water into steam and then which turns whels of the turbine.

hydroelectric power is one where water falls from a great height directly on the whells of the turbine an fhtne electricity is produced.

in a genretor, mechanical (or moving things) energy is converted to electricty, see when a metallic body is moved in a strong magnetic field, a current is produced, and hence electricity.

Answer 9

Electricity can be generated in many ways - the latest fuels being nuclear and hydrogen.

In hydroelectric power, dams are constructed on a river and a hole is kept at the bottom. the water falls through the hole with great force. At the end turbines connected with generators are kept. These turbines are rotated by the force of water(now kinetic energy or mechanical energy) and hence the generators produce electricity.

Hope this is clear. If it is not please visit the following website. They have some good animation diagrams.

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/hyhowworks....